A Texans on Mission team brought water and the gospel to San Martin, Peru, a village on Rio Itaya in recent weeks.
“Thank you so much, brothers, for this incredible and kind gesture towards our children, families and community,” said Alexander Tapullima, the community agent. “We are honored and valued.
“Last year, the drought we had was horrible. It was impossible for us to have good water. We had to walk far and find little water,” Tapullima said. “And now this well that is next to our church is a great blessing and help.
“May you be blessed brothers and gentlemen,” he added. “It helps us a lot to have clean and abundant water for our daily needs and health care.”
Mitch Chapman, director of Texans on Mission Water Impact, said: “We are on a quest to change the world physically and spiritually one community at a time.
“One of the things that makes this difficult,” Chapman said, “is that some communities seem almost impossible to reach. It truly is God directing our partners’ every step, and their resilience in following this direction that is leading the effort to reach every community.”
The Texans on Mission crew brought the well, hygiene classes, children’s activities, and the Jesus film to the village on the Rio Itaya, a tributary of the Amazon River in northern Peru.
“It was a blessing to be in this community and to be able to serve this community and give them the facility of having clean water,” said Keny Ojanama, director of Water Access Peru, with whom Texans on Mission partners.
Getting needed equipment to San Martin presented challenges, said Ojanama. It required a two-hour van ride from the city, three hours by boat, then a 30-minute walk from the river.
After completing the work, the Texans on Mission team found that the river level had dropped while they worked, Ojanama said. The team pushed the boats downstream for three hours before being able to continue their homeward journey via the river and van.
“It's the rhythm that we have,” Ojanama said. “We enjoy this. We are encouraged to know that we are only one piece in the puzzle of the Lord and to know that He will continue to complete and do what He has to do in each community.
“We are encouraged to know that we are going to places where He is already doing something,” Ojanama said.
Texans on Mission’s Water Impact efforts include providing people with access to both physical water and spiritual care. Four people in San Martin professed faith in Christ, and two others reconciled with Christ, according to Ojanama’s report.
Thirty-five people participated in hygiene classes in nearby Progresso. These classes are an important tool in bringing health to remote villages.
“There was a good reception in this community,” Ojanama reported. “One of the authorities was with us the whole time and was ready to help us obtain wood for the shell of the protective fence of the well. There was an interest and gratitude from the community, very collaborative.”
During the afternoons, the team hosted sports activities and competitions for children and young people.
Three Christian films were screened at night, and the message of salvation was shared after each showing.
The community’s well “inauguration” emphasized ongoing care of the well with schedules for maintenance and distribution of the water. “They were encouraged to take care of the well and its fence, which is solid,” Ojanama said. And the pastor/leader of the local church holds the keys to the fenced-in well.
